Flood lamp standard



Aug. 28, 1934. R NEREM FLOOD LAMP STANDARD Filed Aug. 8, 1953 INVENTOR Robert Nerem BY ATTORNEY Patented Aug. 28. 1934 lFlLUUD LAMP S'ilfillllt' lltobcrt Nerem, Evanston, Ill, assignor to Standard Uil Company, Chicago, Ill, a corporation of Indiana Application August 8, 1933, Serial No. 684,229

3 @laims. (@l. Zed-67) This invention relates to improvements in flood lights and more particularly to overhead flood lights of the type wherein the lamp and reflec- I tor unit is mounted upon a mast, high above the ground during normal service, such as for use in illuminating the ground area of a gasoline filling station, outdoor parking lot or arena.

An object of the invention is to provide a flood light of the type described incorporating a jacklcniie mast wherein the lamp may be lowered at will to a position within reach of an operator standing upon the ground, as for service and replacement.

A further object is to provide a flood light of the. character described wherein the lamp and reflector unit may be lowered during operation of the lamp so that when desired the light therefrom may be concentrated over a limited ground area thereby providing increased local illumination such as may aid in the servicing or repair of a motor vehicle upon the ground.

Another object is to provide an improved flood light wherein the mast may be locked at will in its fully extended position thereby to prevent unauthorized persons from tampering with the illuminating unit.

A further object is to provide a jackknife lamp supporting mast which is counter-balanced so as to cause the movable portion of the mast to assume a normally upright position.

Other objects, the advantages and uses of the invention will be apparent after reading the following specification and claims and after consideration of the drawing forming a part of this specification, wherein Fig. 1 is a vertical elevation of a flood light incorporating the features of my invention,

Fig.2 is a fragmentary elevation of the apparatus of Fig. 1, v

Fig. 3 is an enlarged sectional view along the line III-III of Fig. 1, and

Fig. 4 is a perspective view of the automatic locking mechanism for the movable section of the mast.

In general my invention contemplates the provision of an upright and stationary column A comprising the lower section of the mast, an upper section B pivotally mounted at C to the stationary section A, a lamp and reflector assembly D mounted on the upper end of the section B and lock mechanism E for maintaining the section B in axial alignment with the section A.

1 With reference to Figures 1 and 2, it will be noted that I have provided counter-weights 2 at the lower extremity ot the mast section B, below the point of pivotal support C, sothat the section B normally tends to assume the full line position shown in Fig. 1. In order to facilitate the mounting of the upper mast section to the section A, I fashion the lower portion of the movable section B in the form of a yoke 3 adapted to embrace the upper end 4 of the stationary column A. The uppermost portion of the section B may comprise a heavy conduit or pipe of approximately 2" in diameter, as shown at 5.

In Fig. 3 I have illustrated the manner in which the electric current supply cable 6 is conducted from the column forming section A up into the conduit or pipe 5. For this purpose a short steel pipe 7 is mounted transversely through the upper to end of the column, or mast section A and fixed against movement relative thereto as by swedging, welding or by similar shop expedient. The pipe '7 is of sufiicient length to extend outwardly on each side of the column A and through aligned 7 5 openings 8 in the yoke 3, sufficient tolerance being provided to assure of free pivotal movement of the yoke3 relative to the member '7. A pipe cap 9 may be secured as by threaded engagement 11, with one end of the pipe '7 and a nut 12 may be turned upon the opposite threaded end of the pipe. A standard outlet box 13, fixed to the adjacent wall of the yoke 3about the axis of the memher 7, serves to surround the outer and open end of the pipe 7 and to receive the supply cable 6, which may be passed through an opening 14 in the side wall of the pipe '7, within the confines of the column A. The outlet box 13 is connected, through the medium of a conduit 15, with the conduit 5 and the cable 6 passed therethrough 9 and thence upwardly to the-lamp unit D. It is desirable to provide suificient slack of the cable 6 within the 'outlet box 13 so as to permit of the pivotal movement of the mast section B, from full line to dotted line position of Fig. 1, without causing undue torsional strain upon the cable.

As may be seen in Fig. 3 the upper end of the column A is closed as by the introduction of a screw plug 16 thus to seal the stationaryportion of the mast.

In order to facilitate the lowering of the upper and movable section B of the mast to the position shown in dotted lines, as for the replacement or servicing of thelamp unit, I provide a jack chain 18, secured at 19 to the yoke 3 above the pivot 5 point C, and of suificient length to enable the operator to grasp the chain when standing upon the ground. The lamp may therefore be lowered .at Will to the dotted line position, or to any intermediate position. I have found that this ar-' rangement is not only useful to expedite the replacement of the lamp but also to provide at will highly localized illumination such as might be needed for the thorough and close inspection of a motor vehicle as during the servicing operation as well as for minor motor repairs, under which circumstances, the operator could either hold the lamp in its lowered position by retaining his grip upon the jack chain or secure the chain to the latch lock lever 'as hereinafter described.

In Fig. 4 I have illustrated the locking mechanism for normally retaining the mast in its fully extended position as indicated in full lines of Fig. 1. This mechanism comprises a latch bar 21 having a bifurcated portion 22 adapted to embrace an extension 23 on the yoke 3, when the latch bar is in an elevated position, as under the influence of a torsion spring 24 cooperatively engaged with the bar 21 and its supporting lug 25. The latch bar 21 is mounted within the column A with the portion 22 extending exteriorly thereof and the assembly may be held in place by a nut 26 engageable with a stud screw 27 formed upon the lug 25.

A link 28 is provided for establishing connection between the latch bar 21 and an operating lever 29 therefor. The lever 29 may be pivotally mounted upon a lug 31 and secured to the column A through the medium in an integral screw 32, in the same manner as described in connection with lug 25. The outer end of the operating lever 29 is adapted to extend exteriorly of the column A, as shown at 33, and may be provided with an opening 34 therethrough to which the chain 18 is adapted to be secured as by a padlock 35. When the lever 29 is elevated and thus secured to the chain 18, the latch bar 21 will be held, through the positive action of the link 28, in an elevated position thus to preclude the unauthorized lowering of the upper mast section B to its dotted line position.

I have thus provided an overhead flood light of the type where inspection, service 'or replacement of the lamp and reflector assembly D may be carried out without the use of ladders, or without encountering the hazards of climbing the mast, and wherein tampering with the lamp unit by unauthorized persons is entirely precluded.

Further my improved flood light affords the provision of highly localized illumination directly over the work to be done, obtainable at the will of the operator by merely releasing and drawing downwardly on the chain 18 to cause the lamp assembly to descend as the section B of the mast moves upon its pivotal support.

I desire to beunderstood that while I have herein illustrated and described a specific embodiment of my invention, that the same is to be considered illustrative only and not limitative and that I am to be limited only by the scope of the appended claims.

I claim:

1. In an overhead flood light, a jackknife mast for supporting the illuminating unit thereof, said mast comprising a tubular upright and stationary section, a tubular pivot member extending transversely through the upper end of said section and beyond the opposite outer walls thereof and fixed against movement relative thereto, an upper and tubular mast section for supporting said illuminating unit normally in axial alignment with said tubular stationary section, means providing a pivotal connection between said upper mast section and the opposite ends of said tubular pivot member, and means cooperating with said pivot member forming a continuous enclosure extending between the tubular sections of yoke carried by said upper section and embracing the upper portion of said lower section and pivotally mounted upon the opposite ends of said tubular pivot member for providing a pivotal connection between the upper and lower mast section, and means cooperating with said pivot member and the upper of said mast sections for providing acontinuous enclosure extending between the said mast sections through which a current conducting cable for said illuminating unit may extend, said means providing a chamber located about one of the ends of said tubular pivot member and movable with said yoke for confining a slack portion of said current conducting cable, thereby to preclude straining the cable upon the movement of the upper mast section relative to the remaining section.

3. In an overhead fiood light, a stationary lower mast section, an upper lamp supporting mast section pivotally supported upon the upper portion of said lower mast section, over-balancing means 'normally maintaining said upper mast section in upright position upon its pivotal support, means secured to the upper mast section and extending downwardly beyond the upper portion of the lower mast to facilitate the manual swinging of the upper mast section upon its pivotal axis and against the force of said over-balancing means, a manually releasable latch for holding the upper mast section in its over-balanced and upright position, and means engageable at will with said latch and said mast swinging means for locking said upper mast section against movement when in its normal upright position.

ROBERT NEREM. 

